Nerd's Prime: Survival In A Zombie Outbreak
by Nigel Yearning
Summary: Two nerds are stuck in a Zombie Pandemic, so what did they do? Everything they can to survive.
1. Ch 1: The Beginning

The zombie world seemed unusual, a friend of mind goes through the Zombie Survival Guide as I pace back and forth in the room. It wasn't clear on how the zombies came to walking about the earth, there wasn't anything on the TV but I swear I seen this coming.

It started about a week ago, I was your average nerd. I don't fit the stereotypical nerd like other nerds though, I'm only 18 years old. I mostly wore a sweater and a regular pair of pants, I also wore glasses but they are quite thick (and bulletproof.) Unlike most nerds, I was on the track team at school.

I also have an interest on Survivalism, after feeling an uncertainty in the world. Being a young scientist in all, this incident seems to be a curiosity to me.

First they said it was just a mild hallucination drug, but it didn't take long for the military to come in and scout the neighborhood for zombies. I was quick on turning my apartment into a modified fortress, yes I'm living on my own.

With enough food and water to last for two weeks, the real concern was the zombies at the moment. After boarding up the windows and blockading the doors, me and my friend Derek managed to find the Zombie Survival Guide I bought last year. It was underneath my bed, I had no idea how it got there in the first place.

I continue to pace back and forth as Derek pinpointed potential safehouses, "You wanna go to the nearby Wal-Mart?" he asked, "It's only just a couple of kilometers away."

"No, to much people," I said as I continue to walk back and forth in the room.

"How about the mall?" he asked again.

"Even worse," I blurted out.

"Police Station?" asked Derek.

"No."

"Fire Department?"

"Nope."

"Your Grandma's house?"

"Your kidding me?"

"Yes."

"What does it say about weapons?" I asked as I sat down on the couch in our living room.

"Well first of all, what do we have?" asked Derek.

I looked around and remembered we kept a baseball bat on the side of our beds, just in case some Jocks at school come knocking on our door to give us our wedgies. "Baseball Bats," I muttered.

"The Bamboo Ones we keep at the side of our bed?" asked Derek.

"Yup."

"What else?"

I went to my bedroom and looked around, digging through my closet for any weapons that I could use. "There isn't much," I called out, "But we have a lot of glass bottles we could use for Molotov Cocktails."

"Where's the gasoline can's you bought last week?" called Derek.

"It's outside in my pickup truck." I replied.

"You wanna go get it?"

"Sure."

"You want any help?"

"If I scream, that means I need help."

"Suit yourself."

Just before gas prices rose, I managed to grab some gas cans and filled them with gasoline. There were about 4 gas cans, all tied down in the back of my truck that happens to be covered with a bed sheet. I looked outside and there it was, sitting on my truck which was in the parking lot. There was a zombie outside but I wasn't sure if I wanted to get the gas cans, yet.

But of course, I must be brave. I best get those gas cans before someone else does so, best grab the baseball bat that I was saving for the School Bully. "Aim for the head," said Derek, who still has his nose in the Zombie Survival Guide, "Anywhere else will do you no good."

"Yeah, no good." I muttered as I unlock the front door and stepped outside.

After closing the front door, I head for the stairs since I live on the 2nd floor. Once I got onto the parking lot, I got to my truck and pulled off the bed sheet covering the gas can. Still looks brand new, unused. Looking over my shoulder, I grab one of the gas cans and lift it up. It was heavy, something that my scrawny arms can't handle. The adrenaline however gave me the necessary strength needed to carry two gas cans so I'm going to need to make a second pass.

It was heavy, so heavy that I didn't got very far with the gas cans. So I came up with an ingenious idea, I placed the bat over my shoulders and placed the handles of the gas cans on the bat. I guess my back muscles are more stronger thanks to track, as a result I lift them up like they're nothing.

I carried the gas cans up the stairs and sat them on the edge of my apartment door, thinking Derek might get them for me. Then I rushed back to my truck for a second round, however there's a problem. A zombie walked between me and the truck and approaches me with arms stuck out, making that moan in the process. With one good swing of the bat, I smashed in the Zombie's Temple and it went down instantly.

I smacked the zombie's head a couple times with the bat just to make sure, I soon grabbed the zombie and pulled it off of the asphalt and onto the grass where the bedsheet came in handy. I simply covered the zombie with it, I'll dispose of the body later as I got some gas can's to take care of. Using the same method with the bat, I carried the gas cans back to my apartment without further incident.

Once I got the cans inside, I shut the door and locked it. "Any zombies?" asked Derek.

"Yeah, they're to easy to kill," I said, "Very easy."

"You covered the body with the bedsheet?" asked Derek.

"Yup."

"What do you want to do now?"

"Play Left 4 Dead, to get into that zombie feel."

"Okay."

I sat on the couch with Derek as he closes the Zombie Survival Guide and placed it on the table, with the power still on we used our time wisely to play Left 4 Dead. This is what we did for the rest of the zombie outbreak, playing video games. Just like on an ordinary day, a day that doesn't have zombies breathing down your neck.

Though we have more work to accomplish, so our fun didn't last.


	2. Ch 2: Getting Started

We were playing video games as usual, with the volume tuned down. For all I know, video games prepare you for whats to come. When you're playing a video game, you become part of its world. You feel what the characters feel, you react what the characters react. You take your game seriously, as if its real. The only difference to video games and the real world is that your in control of video games, but not in control of the real world. So when a power outage gripped the neighborhood, we were both brought back to reality via the sudden blankness of our HDTV set.

"Where are the flashlights Eric?" asked Derek.

"I think they're in my desk," I replied, "Shall I go get them?"

"Yeah," said Derek, "It's getting dark, it'll make things difficult to see those zombies."

I got up and head over to my desk where I pulled out the heavy duty flashlights, they're weren't any batteries in them but I had some rechargeable Energizer D batteries plugged into the wall before hand. I pulled 4 of them out of the charger and inserted them into the flashlights and tested them, their glow seems brighter than usual. I head back into the living room where I handed Derek a flashlight, "Thanks Eric," said Derek, "I'm not sure these flashlights crack human skulls though."

"Without breaking it that is." I added.

"You think the neighbors have anything of value?" asked Derek.

"I don't know," I said, "Maybe they have like a radio or something, we're going to need water at the moment."

"Fill the sink," advised Derek, "Just in case the water line is cut."

I head over to the sink and sterilized it with bleach, then I wiped it clean before plugging the drain and filling it with tap water. As its filling up, I went to the bathroom and cleaned the bathtub before filling it with water as well. Meanwhile Derek was able to hook a 24 hour UPS device to the TV, the AT&T satellite box, and the Play Station 3 counsel.

"We're going to find some way to provide power to the battery Derek," I explain, "I think my bicycle might do the job."

I had modded my bike to produce AC current every time I pedal it, the only things that the bike charges is a GPS device and my cell phone. It may be able to charge a UPS device, albeit slowly.

"You sure that will work?" asked Derek.

"Its worth a shot," I replied, "Its better than a noisy generator."

I went to the bedroom and pulled out my bicycle out of the closet, I moved the bike to the living room where I sat the rear wheel to a stationary bike stand. I then installed the bike stand to the USB battery backup by hooking up some wires to the plug, the task was made easier with the use of spare parts from previous experiments of mine. With everything hooked up, I got onto the bike and gave it a test run.

Surprisingly I saw the meter on the UPS device turn on, indicating that its charging. "Its working Derek," I announced, "We're getting power."

"Good," said Derek, "Because the water is cut."

"What?" I responded.

I got off the bike and head over to the sink where I noticed water is no longer coming out of the open faucet, I close the faucet and checked on the bathtub's faucet and discovered that too is dry. I closed that one as well, just in case of the pluming turns back on and start gushing out contaminated water.

"We've gotta get some supplies Derek," I explained, "We gotta go out and loot the neighborhood."

"Where do you wanna go?" asked Derek.

"I don't know," I said, "Places like Walmart is probably looted, its time to think outside the box here."

"Awe," said Derek, "I know of a place where there might be some supplies."

"And where is that?" I asked.

"Well my grandfather built this nuclear fallout shelter during the Cold War you see," explained Derek, "There might be some leftover stuff there, the entrance is so well hidden that I doubt anyone would find it."

"Has it ever been used at all?" I asked.

"Usually during a tornado warning as such," said Derek, "I wouldn't recommend staying there Eric, it could become our tomb if we did."

"Well lets just go there, get some crap, then come back." I explained, "How far is it anyway?"

"About three kilometers," said Derek, "Its in a hidden place that no one really goes to, though the zombies might have decided to peak in."

"Is it a farm?" I asked.

"No, no," said Derek, "Its sort of a farm, but the place had been divided in too. The original house that was there was burned down and replaced with a rather modern one, everything else is old and falling apart."

"Who lives there now?" I asked.

My grandfather no longer owns the house," said Derek, "I cannot remember the names of who moved in."

"Do they even know of the nuclear fallout shelter?" I asked.

"Maybe," said Derek, "I don't think my grandfather ever told them about it, so there could be a chance we find it untouch and unlooted. You're up for the challenge?"

"Right on," I agreed as I held up my fist, "Let's go friend, and get stuff done."


	3. Ch 3: First Zombie

When I say get stuff done I mean it, I never turn against my own word.

Me and Derek both got dressed for the occasion, we all had on orange t-shirts and a brown pair of carpenter pants which was perfect for looting. You always must be dressed for the occasion, never wear unnecessary clothing including jewelry. Though I wanted to wear camouflage, Derek insisted we should wear the chosen outfit. I inevitably gave up and went with Derek's idea, then we both head on out.

"The Walmart is about 2 kilometers down the road," said Derek as we stepped outside, "However, I don't feel safe traveling on it."

"Me neither," I said as I made sure I locked the apartment door with the alarm in place, "Should we take another route?"

"The alternative would be by the side of the road," said Derek, "I want to see the zombies and know where they are, I'm not going to travel where I can't see them."

WE suddenly heard a moan nearby, "Or hear them," I added as I point over at the distance, "Look."

We saw a zombified police officer come slumbering after us, the bite wound that made him turn was visibly on his arm. It was neatly wrapped with gauze, slightly soaked in blood. "You think he still has his service revolver?" I asked.

"Assuming that all zombie cops still has their gun," said Derek, "Albeit loaded."

"I think he still has his gun," I said after looking more closely, "He probably has a taser in his other holster, see how it's yellow?"

"You can have the taser," said Derek, "I want the bulletproof vest."

"Does that also mean I get to have the gun?" I asked.

"You called it, you have it." said Derek.

We got out our crowbars and got down to ground level, the zombie was definitely locked onto us as we made our approach. Derek got behind him as I distract it from the front, its arms stretched out in an attempt to grab me. On unison, me and Derek both plunged our crowbars into the zombie's skull with all of our strength. The zombie was easily killed as it dropped to the pavement, now truly dead. "Well that was easy," said Derek, "Lets hope its worth it."

Me and Derek quickly stripped the zombie for useful materials, I managed to get his gun and taser as Derek pulls off the zombie's bulletproof vest off its body. "Kevlar," said Derek, "Sweet."

"Might as well put it on," said Derek, "In case I, accidentally, shoot you."

"Or we're fighting other psychopaths," said Derek, "Keep that in mind there are people who wants what we got, medical supplies are high and value so survivors would fight to the death in order to claim or protect it."

"You suppose we're going to find some supplies in the Walmart?" I asked.

"The stuff the looters might have missed," said Derek, "And those resources would be in the storage area of Walmart."

"The very back?" I asked.

"Where else?" asked Derek.

I trust his word for the resources, I grabbed the gun and taser with their holsters and attached them onto my belt as Derek puts on the bulletproof vest. "Ready?" asked Derek.

"Yeah," I replied, "I hope your right Derek."

"There's a chance that somebody has gotten there first," noted Derek, "I could be right all along despite finding nothing there, keep that in mind."

"Will do." I said.

We continued down the road towards the Walmart, careful to avoid wandering zombies in the way. The whole road was deserted, with the occasional abandoned vehicle near the curb. Dead bodies litter the street, giving off noxious odors as they rot. I made a mental note in my mind to find some chlorinated bleach, so I could dispose some of the dead bodies I encountered.

For awhile, I kept thinking this isn't going to blow over. Society might had vanished for all I know, maybe this is a global outbreak. Even though I prepared before hand, my patience is wearing thin. The thought of staying here is becoming, like suicide, but there is plenty of opportunities for me to exploit, such as that Walmart.


	4. Ch 4: Dramatic Ending

The Walmart was deserted as me and Derek stood on top of a Burger King overlooking it's parking lot, zombies wander around paying no attention to us as we do our recon. The parking lot was empty, not a single vehicle was in a parking space. Walmart shopping carts were scattered all over the place like toys, and some zombies were unknowingly pushing some of them.

It was about a 100 meters walk to the entrance, thankfully we brought flashlights with us since its dark inside the Walmart. I could also see that the glass automatic doors and windows were shattered, probably from the massive looting taking place in the early days of the zombie outbreak. It also means the zombies had gotten in, its something to watch out for.

"The only light we may be able to get out of there is from the skylights," said Derek, "So it won't be entirely dark in there."

"People probably had cleaned the place out for everything," I said, "With the zombies in all, they might not had enough time to grab everything."

"Anything that can store water could be a life savor." said Derek, "Keep an eye out for plastic bottles or some form of container that is watertight, we could use them to store other stuff we might find."

We both got down from the Burger King and walked over to the Walmart, zombies nearby took notice and try to slouch after us. They were walking so slow that we don't even have to run, there's no need since we're already near our destination anyway. We looked inside the Walmart and noticed all the lights were dark, the only form of lights shining in the Walmart is the skylights letting in diffused natural sunlight.

Just what Derek had predicted, the whole Walmart was cleaned out from the vial goods. There weren't even clothes or electronics available, even all the toys were gone. The only thing in there were trash, dead bodies, and zombies looking for their former to eat. That former happens to be us, and they all sense our presence. The moans echoing throughout the superstore says otherwise, "Lets make this quick," said Derek, "I don't wanna be a zombie's dinner."

We split up and went through the entire Walmart and searched every crick and crack of the place, anything with any sort of value. I found several bits of paper and a couple of empty water bottles, I used the gun to shoot some zombies which caused Derek to jump. "The hell was that?" he yelled.

"Just me," I called out, "Nothing to worry about."

"Don't attract more zombies Eric," said Derek, "For all I know, there could be more of them outside."

He's right, there are more of them outside. They could be walking through the entrance and into the store as we loot, the store is already difficult to defend as it is. I wouldn't make a safehouse here, it is too big of a target by many.

I regrouped with Derek after we've searched most of the store, "So what did you find?" I asked.

"Random junk," said Derek, "Nothing else, what about you?"

"Same thing," I replied, "You want to check out the storage area?"

"Sure." said Derek.

Just before we head to the back, we heard tires screech outside and something metal was knocked over. The sound of car doors opening and closing made us scramble to the back of the store, "Search the place!" yelled what sounded like a madman, "Clean this place out!"

There were massive rows of boxes stacked sky high, we climbed on top of that as grueling thugs came walking in. They weren't armed with guns or anything, just regular lead pipes and crowbars. We were about 8 meters above them, so they hadn't noticed us yet. They were shining their flashlights around in the dark storage area in search for supplies and a lookout for zombies, they were all wearing black clothing and appear filthy, they are definitely shady people.

Me and Derek counted them, and found out there's only 5 of them. I don't know what's more of a threat, zombies or other humans, maybe a human undergoing the zombification process. "What the hell are you doing?" asked what appears to be the leader as he approached one of the thugs trying to open the loading doors.

"I'm trying to let some light in here," said the thug, "It's darker than sh#t in here."

"You dumbass," yelled the leader as he punched the thug in the cheek, knocking him onto the ground, "You're going to let in those corpses as a result, we've already attracted thousands of them on our way over here!"

As the leader continues his rant at the helpless thug, Derek tapped me on the shoulder, "Eric," he whispered, "We gotta get outta here."

"I'm working on it," I said, "How heavy are these boxes?"

"Weighs like a metric ton," said Derek, "What are you planning?"

"We're going to push the box and drop it right on top of their heads," I replied, "Like the yellow square piece in Tetris."

"And then what?" asked Derek.

"We wing it," I said, "Like always."

"I hate winging it," said Derek, "Something always unexpectedly happens."

"Just shut up and push this dead weight," I argue, "Its better than nothing."

We carefully get behind the large box we were lying on and placed both hands on it, "Okay," I said, "1, 2, 3!"

Me and Derek's combined strength was able to push the heavy box off the massive rail, it fell to the floor and burst. It's contents scattered all over the place, catching the thug's by surprised. "What the?" asked one of the thugs.

Me and Derek jumped down and landed on top of the box where we pounced on top of a couple of thugs each. We struck fast, giving no time for the thugs to react. We were like ninjas at them, probably all the video games we have been playing for the last 10 years. We really nailed those thugs in that viscous fight, they tried to swing their weapons at us but we whack them in their pressure points with our fist and feet before they do so.

The fight went on for at least 5 minutes, it ended went Derek picked up one of the thugs and tossed him out an emergency exit door. The alarm went off, it was so loud that it made Derek look like a jackass for activating it. "Oh crap," screamed the later, "Lets blow this joint before the zeds come."

The thugs rushed out the front exit, we watch as we saw a large horde of zombies came walking through the front entrance. The thugs turned around tried to get back into the storage area, but we shut and barricaded the door by the time they reach it. "Open up!" they screamed, "Open the damn door!"

But it was too late, we heard their screams as the zombies feast on their flesh. When the blood started oozing from underneath the door, it was clear that we best get our business finished and head back to the safehouse. The thugs dropped their backpacks before they engaged in fighting us, so we grabbed all of them before we head out the emergency exit.

We took a different route home, laughing along the way. Once we got back, we rushed into the apartment and quickly deactivated the alarm before shutting and locking the door. Me and Derek went through the thug's belongings, all the backpacks were filled with numerous 100 dollar bills... and quarters. "They broke the bank!" cried Derek, "My god we're rich! How much is there?"

We all counted the bills (and quarters) and calculated that we have about 50,000 dollars and 25 cents, not bad for looting a Walmart. "We're rich!" cheered Derek, "We're filthy rich."

"Fifty thousand dollars doesn't make us millionaires Derek," I criticized, "Its just enough for insurance."

"What do we do now?" asked Derek.

"I don't know," I replied, "Who's turn is it to run the genny."

"Mine," said Derek, "I'll get the battery backup charged as you bust out the controllers, its survival mode this time."

After Derek charged up the UPS, we both played Left 4 Dead through the rest of the day, with a money jar stuffed with all the money we just found sitting on the coffee table. It was all fun and games, until the cops showed up. Well, sort of.

We began to hear moans outside our door, I got up and looked through the peep hole and saw several zombies in SWAT uniforms clawing at our door. "Aw f#ck," I cursed, "Zombie police."

"How ironic," said Derek, "I was just ready to turn myself in."

"Very funny Derek," I said, "Very funny."

"Very well," said Derek, "I'll get the crowbars."


End file.
